Blog exchange Texas Tech Edition

This week we'll be welcoming the Red Raiders to Boulder and as such we welcome the crew from The Tortilla Report to Allbuffs. We posed the following questions to them: http://tortillaretort.fantake.com/

1.) What was the general TT consensus on the Tommy Tubberville hire?
2.) Is your offense as electric this year as we've come to expect?
3.) With his recent performances has Taylor Potts ended the QB controversy?
4.) What weapons outside of Potts should we be on the lookout for?
5.) Who is worse your defense or our special teams?
6.) We've been talking a lot recently about CU's history with the Big 8 and our farewell tour around the Big 12, what CU vs Tech game sticks out most in your mind?
7.) As a tech fan what is your take on the conference re-alignment that occurred this summer?
8.) Do you think the new Big 12 (Mack10) can survive? If not where would you like to see the Red Raiders land?

The CU/Tech game that sticks out best in my memory was long before the Big 12 was even a twinkle in Deloss Dodds' eye. It was 1980 or thereabouts. CU had a kid named Walter Stanley, who was a great player on a world class craptacular team. He tore TT a new one. Stanley had some issues while at CU, and I don't remember exactly what they were (I was 12 at the time), and I don't think he finished his career in Boulder. I think he stole something. In any event, he was awesome that day, and it was early in the season, so we all thought that Fairbanks (yes, Fairbanks) had finally turned it around. We were wrong, but Stanley was a heckuva player.

The CU/Tech game that sticks out best in my memory was long before the Big 12 was even a twinkle in Deloss Dodds' eye. It was 1980 or thereabouts. CU had a kid named Walter Stanley, who was a great player on a world class craptacular team. He tore TT a new one. Stanley had some issues while at CU, and I don't remember exactly what they were (I was 12 at the time), and I don't think he finished his career in Boulder. I think he stole something. In any event, he was awesome that day, and it was early in the season, so we all thought that Fairbanks (yes, Fairbanks) had finally turned it around. We were wrong, but Stanley was a heckuva player.

Except for the rabid Leach supporters, everything was great leading into August. Coach Tuberville is a fantastic speaker, there were record-setting season ticket sales, and recruiting is much improved (Rivals 2011 class currently ranked 14th). Then he chose Taylor Potts over Steven Sheffield, and that wasn’t popular. Then the offense wasn’t ‘Air Raid’ anymore. Then we started losing. There are still a bunch of us who are being patient, but a lot of folks are pretty mad about the team’s performance.

Is your offense as electric this year as we've come to expect?

Not really, no. We’re usually in the top 5 in total offense, and right now we’re 29th. Teams with quality corners have been able to take away our screen game without giving up the deep third because our outside receivers lack speed. Our most explosive players are the two running backs, Batch and Stephens, but the young OL had assignment issues early, so that’s just now coming together. We’ve turned into a methodical offense, not a lot of explosive plays.

With his recent performances has Taylor Potts ended the QB controversy?

Not even close. A lot of fans blame every incompletion, sack, or 3-and-out on Taylor. We score 35 points in the 1st half versus Baylor, and people are bitching about Potts taking a sack at the end of the half that made the FG more difficult (we missed it of course). I feel for Potts, but there’s a large faction that will always believe that Sheffield would have taken us to 10 wins.

What weapons outside of Potts should we be on the lookout for?

Stephens for sure. He’s tough and quick…great hands, cuts well in space. Leong has tremendous body control and concentration on fade routes. Batch is looking for safeties to run over when he gets to the second level. We keep waiting for Cornelius Douglass to have a breakout game. Torres and Swindall have been slowed by injuries.

Who is worse your defense or our special teams?

Ha. Defense is ranked 102nd while the Special Teams have given up three fake punts, some crucial kick returns, and the youtube sensational on-side kicks. Going forward, I would have to say that the defense is the greater liability. Numerous injuries combined with some personnel that don’t fit the new scheme makes stopping the offenses in our conference a bit scary. The special teams issues are strictly execution and can be fixed.

We've been talking a lot recently about CU's history with the Big 8 and our farewell tour around the Big 12, what CU vs Tech game sticks out most in your mind?

2006 was so bad, losing to an 0-6 Colorado team 30-6. But it wasn’t televised and I didn’t see it. So obviously 2007 was going to be payback with Colorado coming to Lubbock. We were 6-2, had Crabtree, and after firing the DC things were looking better. Well, Tech came out flat, Hugh Charles was tough, and Cody Hawkins mysteriously played mistake-free. Meanwhile Harrell threw 4 pics and we couldn't dig out of the hole. The name Jordon Dizon still pisses me off.

As a Tech fan what is your take on the conference re-alignment that occurred this summer?

I was all for it. An Eastern division of ASU, AZ, CU, OU, OSU, Tech, UT, and A&M sounded like tough football, and the TV/$$ sounded even better. I wanted a Pac16 network so that all conference football/basketball games would be televised (unlike this week!). I think CU made the right move. I think leftovers from our league would have made the Mountain West a BCS-level conference.

Do you think the new Big 12 (Mack10) can survive? If not where would you like to see the Red Raiders land?

Tech fans feel like they got screwed in this deal, and we’re not thrilled about the prospect of being left out in the next round. In the meantime, the 10-team format is growing on me, both in football and basketball. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts (maybe five years). Hopefully the Tech Administration is keeping some options open for when UT decides to go independent. If the league falls apart, my first choice would be to join the Pac12, and I would be really depressed if we dropped into the Mountain West.

1. What's the deal with going for 2 so much?
2. Is Tyler the answer at QB?
3. How's recruiting with the PAC 12 upcoming?
4. Do you want McCartney back and is he still a Promise Keeper?
5. Why do you guys always beat us in Boulder? (The last two haven't been televised so I've just suffered watching the box score.)
6. I wonder why RG3 ran so much more against you. He almost beat us with his arm.
7. Are you fired up to face our 102nd ranked defense?
8. Is bowl-eligible enough for your fanbase this year?

1. What's the deal with going for 2 so much?
2. Is Tyler the answer at QB?
3. How's recruiting with the PAC 12 upcoming?
4. Do you want McCartney back and is he still a Promise Keeper?
5. Why do you guys always beat us in Boulder? (The last two haven't been televised so I've just suffered watching the box score.)
6. I wonder why RG3 ran so much more against you. He almost beat us with his arm.
7. Are you fired up to face our 102nd ranked defense?
8. Is bowl-eligible enough for your fanbase this year?

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1. our coach is a certified moron.
2. this year, yes. Next year, maybe, maybe not. Hirschman might get the start if he impresses the new coach and has a skill set that is compatible with whatever the new OC wants to run.
3. Until Hawk is gone, recruiting will be mediocre.
4. Mac won a MNC in Boulder and recruited some of the greatest football players ever to Boulder. We could do a lot worse. Still, there is some concern over his age - he's 70 - and the time he's spent away from the game.
5. No idea.
6. No idea. He's a react and go kind of player, so our defense must have given him those opportunities. His running didn't kill us, though. I think he hurt us more with those annoying bubble screen passes that we simply couldn't defend.
7. We're fired up to see the end of the Hawkins era. That's pretty much all that fires us up anymore.
8. Not even close.